Saturday, 15 May 2010

Safety in Numbers

Quite a few people I know are dealing with rejection at the moment. Some are unpublished, others have been published. It's tough out there, and I don't think any currently published writer feels safe. But that's not good to hear when you're still trying to get published and it seems like it will never happen for you.

Which is why I think that more than ever the right approach is the more the merrier. If you hang your hopes on one or two submissions, then the rejection is more painful. Each time it becomes harder to send out, knowing what may be in store. And then there's the time factor. A year can easily go by without success. It's dispiriting.

Contrast that with starting with an attitude that you're going to send out 50 times before you get an acceptance. That means you've got to get through 49 no's before you get the longed for yes. Then, each no you receive brings you closer to the desired yes. This may sound a bit too Positive Thinking for some people, but see it as an incentive to get the submissions sent out.

The more you have out at any one time, the less each rejection will hurt because you can still be hopeful about the ones that are still out there. I always had six submissions out there and although the rejections still hurt when they came, I think suffered less than those people who sent out their submissions in ones and twos.

I'm not looking for a new agent or publisher right now, but still I'm planning new projects - a non-fiction book, some picture book texts, and I've an idea for a detective series. If what I'm writing now doesn't work out for me, at least there's something else in the pipeline to look forward to. I think sending out lots of submissions isn't just practical, it's good for your mental health.

Come to the launch party for Kissing Mr Wrong, 6.30pm on 20th May at Waterstones, Milsom Street, Bath. All welcome, but please ring 01225 448515 to let them have an idea of numbers.

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About Me

I've written five novels, the most recent being Kissing Mr Wrong (shortlisted for the RNA novel of the Year 2011) and A Single to Rome (longlisted for RNA Novel of the Year 2010). I'm a full time writer, but I also like teaching creative writing which I've done for the Universities of Oxford and Bristol, and for ASE which is a branch campus of Franklin and Marshall College, USA. I'm the Royal Literary Fund Fellow at the University of Bath - I must be growing up...
About a million years ago I was an actor and played Vicky, Rodney's girlfriend, in Only Fools and Horses. I divide my life between two of the most beautiful places in the UK, Bath and St Ives and can't believe how lucky I am.
www.sarahduncan.co.uk